living in: in the mood for love

In the Mood for Love has the capacity to hold me spellbound for it’s entire length. I kept forgetting to pause and take screen grabs for the images I wanted to include in the column because I was so entranced. Wong Kar-wai’s sweeping and reserved platonic romance tells the tale of a pair of neighbors in who discover their spouses are having an affair in 1962 Hong Kong.

Sometimes when I do this posts for lesser known movies, I get really worried. I want them to be great so you’ll rent it and (hopefully) love it as much as I do. Normally, I’ll just pull a few cute things from the internet and write up a couple of sentences and hope for the best. This time is different. I am going to shamefully beg you to watch this movie. On my knees, beg. Seriously beg. Get thee to thine house of DVD rental and watch right now, beg. It’s sexy, reserved and utterly sublime. You won’t be sorry.* -amy m.

you convinced me… just added this to my netflix queue! i especially like the mini-bar. i’m restoring my current bar to it’s original use as a console record player, so i need a new place to stash barware.

This is up in my top three favourite films EVER. It is a visual feast; every single frame is a little masterpiece. The colours, the score, the whole feel of it: I’ve watched it half a dozen times and never tired of it.

My husband and I have been absolutely entranced by this movie for several years and so has a friend of ours who borrowed (and kept) my copy a couple years ago! The visual details in this movie are phenomenal and so is the soundtrack.

Thanks for the tips on incorporating the feel of the movie into our homes…funny, I already had some of the items you picked out on my wish list:)

I watched this movie at my husband’s insistence and I was completely overwhelmed by its unbelievable beauty (and by my husband’s incredibly good taste). It’s so great to see it getting some attention. Everyone definitely should see this movie!!

I love love love the “living in” section of design*sponge- one of my most favorite sections of this blog! Whenever I watch a movie now I’ve started picking out things in the set that I would play off of and choose to focus on if I were to write a “living in” section of it. And I will most definitely rent this movie! So thank you for providing this and keep them coming!

just yesterday my friend who i just showed this movie to for the first time online streamed on Netflix (even easier to see) was saying how beautiful the cinematography and art direction is, how he’d never seen such colors and look before.

right now they live in the “categories” section of d*s, but when we launch the re-design in may/june they will be easy to find by either the column name or the author name. we added a chunk of new writers/columns this year and sort of outgrew the current layout, so we’re working quickly now to fix that. until then, here’s the link to amy’s columns:

Wow, Amy! This is a gorgeous post.
I’d like to request that you do a ‘living in’ post about ‘E.T.’ I’ve always been fascinated by the things in that movie. It’s not exactly breathtaking, but I bet it would be interesting.

Add me to the list of the convinced. This is a gorgeous collection of objects… I’m looking forward to similarly gorgeous cinematic funtime :-)
PS, will a higher power come down & smite me if I actually spend $37 on those teacups?

One, if not possibly, the film of my life. I watch it at least once a year. I am always discovering new things, new colour combinations, new moods, new feelings. It is a great inspiration. I have seen ALL his films, and none is as powerful as this one.

One of the first movies I saw in an arthouse theatre, I left gasping at the rich depth of color in every scene, the decadent lighting, the spare styling, and of course, the greatly sad love story! I think I need to OWN this movie. Thanks for showcasing it!

this is the most beautiful movie, one of my favourite all times. Coming from a Hong Kong background, it brings a sense of strong nostalgia for me. It is most awesome in lighting and feel. Love all the Wong Kar Wei films! It reminds me of what my grandma wore in the 60s and also my mum.

i caught this on ifc a few months ago and became obsessed with finding images. it pretty much slayed me. the only thing it lacks is smell-0-vision. if you could catch the cigarettes, colognes, foods… on top of the visuals and that sensuous music, people might swoon to death. a

I love love love this film — one of my favorites! All of Wong Kar Wai’s films are visually stunning but this one just took my breath away. I just watched it again last week and have recommended it twice on my blog. Love these posts:)

Amy, you are reading my mind. I saw the movie two weeks ago for the first time and thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if it was featured on Living In.” It is sexy and subtle and beautiful. Thanks for the post and please keep ‘em coming!

AHHH Love Love this film. and you did a fantastic job with this post. Makes me want to put the film on right now. I liked 2046, a lot of ppl were disappointed, but I still liked it but maybe a little less. I also watched his American film a couple of years ago the one with Norah Jones..uuummm….My Blueberry Nights..I think thats it…well it was good, but nothing like IITMFL:)

I just started reading your blog and really like it – the items you chose in this post are fantastic! Of course it helps that I LOVE this movie too! All of the dresses Maggie Cheung wears are so beautiful and Tony Leung is amazing actor.

I love this movie. I actually gasped once when th e camera panned around them at a restaurant because of her dress. And the way she walked to get those noodles every night. Such a sweet yet sad or sad yet sweet story. Thank you for urging others to see it. And thanks to my friend Robin for sending me your link.

One of my favorite movies. Such an incredible wealth of detail in every shot, all of it working so perfectly to underscore the emotional timbre. (Stills from the film make great desktop wallpaper. Swoony!)

I love Wong Kar-wai, and this is a great film. You picked perhaps his most mainstream release, too, which most people will probably be familiar with. If anyone hasn’t seen it, it’s so worth watching and shouldn’t be too hard to rent!

its a gorgeous film.. I had an opportunity to visit and lived abroad in Hong-Kong for many years. Everytime after a wan char wai movie, I would walk out on to the streets in HK and feel and look at it more romantically then ever, even in midst of the kaos..He’s an amazing film maker..

Great representation of the movie, which I love. I was totally skeptical when my boyfriend told me we were watching another foreign film – but visually and emotionally a film gem. I agree – get on the Netflix or video store if you haven’t seen this!

I saw this movie at the theater when it came out mostly due to an interview with the director. He said that the city was changing daily and he wanted to capture as much as he could before it disappeared. I understand. I was enchanted. My favorite scene is when the businessman comes home from his trip with a ‘new’ rice cooker, everyone in the audience cracked up.

This is one of my favorite movies. EVER.
I love every scene. I love her dresses. I love the soundtrack. And maybe, above all, I love how the things that they never said make me feel.
I have seen it a million times. A real good choice, Amy. Thanks!

When I stumbled across this post, I immediately thought that if I were going to write one of these, it would have to be for Out of Africa. So of course I had to scroll back through all of them, to see that it was your first one ever. Now that I’m convinced that we’re soul mates, I’ll just sit back and wait for you do do your Living In post on The Razor’s Edge.
Thanks a ton, Elizabeth

Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle make such beautiful movies together, and this one is no exception! Even with little action or dialogue, this movie pulls you and won’t let go. And thank goodness, we need more movies like this!

Hey, I was just listening to the theme tune today!!
I too love this film, so seductive and sensual. Check out “My Blueberry Nights” all so good :)
Please do “I capture the Castle” one of these days. Thanks.

Hey Amy, I just came across your blog. Yes this movie was produced quite a few years ago and is absolutely beautiful. I live in Hong Kong and walked into a vintage shop one day and it happened to be the one that lent things to Wong Kar Wai for props for the movie. I fell in love with a lamp – turns out it was the one in Tony Leung’s bedroom. I’ll email you a screen shot and one from my home if you like. It’s a beautiful double headed gooseneck lamp from the 60s. I’m so happy to see that there are so many fans out there, outside of Hong Kong.

Amy, I promise to rent this , or find it on Netflicks, It sounds very intriguing. I love this feature because I get so many great suggestions that I haven’t heard of before, and I love to see you create Living In’s of the ones that I love as well. I found this old link and I am glad that I did.

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